For the second straight game Jorge Posada’s right foot tired toward the end of a game he caught.

Sunday, in his first action behind the plate since May 16 because of a fractured bone, Posada left because the foot was sore. Last night, in his second game with the gear on after not catching Tuesday night, Posada admitted to discomfort and figured he will not catch Andy Pettitte tonight.

“It gets painful toward the end,” said Posada, who caught all nine innings of a 6-3 loss to the Phillies at Yankee Stadium and said he wasn’t limited by the foot. “I will probably need a day off.”

With Alex Rodriguez not sure if his right groin/hip flexor problem will allow him to play third tonight, Posada might not be in the lineup if he can’t catch because Rodriguez will be the DH.

“I hope it keeps getting better,” said Posada, who homered off Jamie Moyer in the fifth and fanned to end the game with two on against Brad Lidge. “I don’t want to be a half-time player.”

Even if Posada’s foot holds up and even if he produces at the plate, don’t look for Francisco Cervelli to rot on the bench.

“My job is to keep Jorge healthy all year,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I will evaluate it on a daily basis, but [Cervelli] is going to play.”

Cervelli is hitting .284 (38-for-134) with 29 RBIs in 44 games and a team-leading .447 (17-for-38) with 28 RBIs with runners in scoring position.

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When Girardi saw Alex Rodriguez not run hard to second on a ninth-inning double, the manager wondered if Rodriguez’s right groin problem was hurting the DH.

As it turned out, Rodriguez wasn’t taking any chances of blowing it out after missing four games.

“I wanted to make sure,” said Rodriguez, who slid head-first into second and didn’t score on Robinson Cano‘s ground single to right with two outs and the Yankees down three runs in the ninth. “Turning third base like a wild man wouldn’t benefit anybody.”

Rodriguez, who said he believes he needs more lateral movement in the field before he returns to third base, will work again with first base coach Mick Kelleher before tonight’s game.

“Today was a good sign,” said Rodriguez, who went 1-for-3 and walked. “I didn’t feel anything.”

Figure Rodriguez to DH tonight with the idea of being ready for third base when the Yankees play the Diamondbacks Monday night in Phoenix, where the DH won’t be used.

“I hope so, that’s still a long way away,” Rodriguez said of interleague play that continues at Dodger Stadium later in the week.

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The Yankees will receive the results of Cito Culver‘s physical today, and if there are no problems, the club’s first-round pick in last week’s draft will sign a contract.

Culver is a shortstop from Rochester who was taken with the 32nd pick in the draft.

When it comes to Rodriguez, Posada and any other injured Yankees, Girardi is taking the route he learned from Joe Torre: when the player says he is ready, give him one more day.

“Set backs are the worst things that can happen,” Girardi said. “Sometimes their hearts are bigger than the heads. You don’t want something that’s five or six days to turn into three weeks.”

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Sergio Mitre‘s strained left oblique muscle isn’t that serious according to the right-handed reliever.

“It’s not that bad,” said Mitre, who was put on the 15-day DL Tuesday when the Yankees replaced him with left-handed reliever Boone Logan to use against the Phillies’ lefty hitters. “We will see how it’s progressing.”

According to the Yankees and Mitre, he suffered the injury taking batting practice Sunday. With six games against NL teams starting Monday, Yankees hurlers have been hitting since the DH won’t be in play.

“I didn’t feel it while I was hitting but then I cooled off and it was sore,” Mitre said. “Then the soreness turned into grabbing.”

Mitre threw in the bullpen during Sunday’s game against the Astros.

“I got up at the end, that’s when I felt it,” said Mitre, who hasn’t pitched since June 4 and is eligible to come off the shelf Sunday.